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Is Santa good For Christianity?

Okay, so we all know that Santa Claus was made for Christmas, and that Christmas is supposed to be Jesus’ birthday. we also know that Santa was based on the Christian Saint Nicholas. While these things may be true, Santa has long since ceased to belong to Christianity. He is much more a universal figure nowadays.

Here is a pic of St. Nick. the creepy ass eyes are cause he has night vision, so he can see you when you’re sleeping.   

To me, Santa is separate from Christianity. he has grown in much the same way as the Christmas holiday has. As I said before, Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. (Let’s forget for the moment that Christ was actually born sometime in September according to most scholars. I’ll save that argument for another post.) Despite what the holiday was intended to be, it has become something more throughout the years. It has become many things to many people.

Depending on who you ask, Christmas could be about faith, family, charity, love, gratitiude, children, happiness, capitalism, fellowship, or a host of other things. It is a holiday that is celebrated by hundreds of millions, if not billions of people, Christian and Non-Christian alike. Santa is supposed to be the emobodiment of all things Christmas. he transcends Christianity the same way Christmas itself does.

Now here is where things get interesting. from a Christian standpoint, is Santa a symbol of all that is wrong with Christmas? It can be argued that Santa and his minions (Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch) have effectively overtaken Jesus as the stars of this season. in a sense, it can even be said that we as a society have come to worship these false idols over Jesus.

Evil takes many forms this time of year.

Then again, it can also be argued that Santa fits quite well into the Christian ideology. Saint Nicholas began his tradition of giving based on Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor.” These same ideals have remained a constant in the Christmas tradition (well at least when we are speaking of the supposed “true spirit of Christmas”.). Santa is still supposed to be a benevolent force who is all about giving. he is kind and generous, and he spreads his love to all who need it. plus, he judges people for their sins. Doesn’t get much more Christian than that!

So here is my conclusion. I think Santa is ultimately good in general. His story is good for Christians and Non-Christians alike. Personally, I always designate a time for Jesus and a time for general merriment when it comes to Christmas. these two sometimes overlap, but I always carve out a time to be specifically observant of Christ’s birth. not that I think he’s keeping tabs anyway. Jesus never did strike me as the jealous diva type.

Jesus, what did you do with Santa? I don’t like that look on your face!

Related posts:

1. Political correctness mars a ‘Merry Christmas’
2. Google Fail: Christianity Is Bullshit
3. HOLLY GOES LIGHTLY: Why We Do the Santa Claus Thing
4. Be open to the gift
5. READER REACTION: What do you leave for Santa?